All posts tagged: cuisine

I’m a big fan of Korean food, so it was exciting to stumble on this little eatery on Swanston Street recently. Oppa Kitchen has been around for six months or so, always brimming with hip young Koreans, and it’s easy to see why. The bright and minimalist decor is the first thing to entice punters off the street, and the cheap and cheerful menu is a close second. This is not the best Korean cuisine in Melbourne by any stretch — you won’t be getting any exciting little kimchi side-dishes here, for a start — but at $10-$12 for most mains, this place is great value and damn tasty nonetheless. I ordered the very enormous and delicious Korean Beef Bulgogi Meal Bucket — and it really was a bucket. The meal came in a wooden dish, full to the brim with rice, beef bulgogi, tasty salad and an orange slice. It was thoroughly satisfying, and the whole experience — from the self-service ordering system to the bustling atmosphere — was really quite fun, and made …

I have a new cafe crush. Captains of Industry couldn’t be more Melbourne. Tucked down a laneway off Little Bourke Street, this cafe sits one floor above street level, its large front windows overlooking the beautiful GPO building on Elizabeth Street. The space has a warehouse look, with painted brick walls and large metal roof beams, but it doesn’t feel cold or cavernous. A smattering of small wooden tables, a long dining table and window benches makes this a comfortable hangout whether you’re visiting as a group, a couple or alone. And here’s where the industry comes in. Branching off from the main cafe space are three tiny shops: a shoemaker, a barbershop and a jeweller. Each is the size of a shoebox, but each is filled with a fascinating array of tools and contraptions. Peeking through these doors is like catching a glimpse into the Melbourne of another era. While the website declares that ‘the practitioners of Captains of Industry are Practical Men of Wide Experience offering the Good, the True and the Beautiful …

Ladies and gentlemen, The Melbourne Local has a new favourite pho shop. It’s in Footscray, of course, as most of Melbourne’s best phos are. Tucked down a road off Barkly Street, Hien Vuong 1 is aesthetically modest (none of those shiny black counter-tops here) and gastronomically magnificent. The pho’s broth is fragrant and deliciously spiced, and it just gets better once you’ve added condiments and fresh herbs to your liking. As in most pho places in Footscray, soups here come in three sizes (remember, small = large, large = mammoth-sized) and are dirt cheap at around $8–$10. The staff are very attentive, particularly the friendly owner of the restaurant who has a smile for every customer. Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed. Hien Vuong 1 Address: 37 Leeds St, Footscray Tel: 9687 1470 Open: Monday–Sunday for lunch and dinner Read more reviews at

Two years ago, Diego Iraheta opened a tiny one-room coffee stop called Acústico Cafe on Union Street, near Jewell Station in Brunswick. For a time, this place remained a somewhat hidden secret behind dark tinted windows — a caffeine pit-stop for a handful of locals. Gradually, however, Diego realised the cafe was outgrowing its premises, so he opened the back room to create a lounge area furnished with recycled bits and bobs, including a couple couches and a stripped-back piano. Here, the large industrial side-door is rolled up in warm weather for an ‘outside-in’ feel, and there’s a steady flow of well-chosen, laid-back tunes to soothe the ears. The coffee at Acústico is tasty and the food is delicious and reasonably priced. The Latin-American influenced menu rotates every few months to keep things interesting — check the Acústico facebook page for recent additions. This is where you’ll also find details of any gigs and other events happening at the cafe, which aims to be a hub for the local artistic community. Acústico is the sort of …

I’m a big fan of a decent Chinese dumpling. Quick, light, not too oily, with individual ingredients you can really taste — these, to my inexpert but enthusiastic Australian taste-buds, are the hallmarks of a fine dumpling. Shanghai Street Dumpling in Little Bourke Street are purveyors of such exemplary dumplings. Having tried a bunch of dumpling restaurants along Little Bourke, I believe I can safely declare Shanghai Street the best of the lot — at least at the cheap ‘n’ cheery end of the dining spectrum. You’ll pay a couple extra dollars for a plate of dumplings here compared with, say, Shanghai Dumpling House in Tattersalls Lane, but the dumplings are far tastier, you won’t have to shout to be heard inside the restaurant and you won’t have to contend with rude staff. Shanghai Street specialises in xiao long bao but a couple of my favourites are the pork and prawn wonton soup — light and delicious on a cold Melbourne day — and the deceptively filling pork fried dumplings, both around $8.50–$9.50 for a serving …

From today until 30 November the Alexandra Gardens will be transformed into a Night Noodle Market, complete with over 25 hawker-style food stalls, four bars for all your boozy needs and nightly entertainment. Held as part of The Age Good Food Month, the market will kick off at 5pm on weekdays and from 4pm on weekends. Click here for a full list of participating stalls. — Tuesday 19 November 2013 UPDATE! I haven’t made it to the Night Noodle Market yet, but I’ve heard feedback from a few readers that the queues at the market stalls are atrocious. One said she had to wait an hour and a half for food. If you’ve been to the NNM, let us know how your experience went by commenting below! Night Noodle Market 2013 Dates: 18–30 November 2103 Address: Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne Opening hours: Monday–Tuesday 5–9pm; Wednesday 5–10pm; Thursday–Friday 5–11pm; Saturday 4–10pm; Sunday 4–9pm

Melbourne’s delicious and cheap range of authentic Asian food has to be one of the things I love most about this city. And Don Don Japanese restaurant on Little Lonsdale Street in the CBD ticks all the right boxes. This eatery, which used to be tucked into a tiny room on upper Swanston Street, has now stretched its wings a little in its new location. But beware: this place still booms at busy times of the day. (I remember my first experience ordering food at the old Don Don during the lunchtime crush — it was really quite scary.) The food here isn’t the best in Melbourne, but it is tasty and very cheap; most meals are between $6 and $9. My favourite is the yummy soba salad (noodles with salad and tofu), although a very hungry tummy might prefer one of the larger meals. A great pick for a quick, affordable city meal. Don Don Address: 198 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne Tel: 9670 7113 Read more reviws at

Usually, when one orders a kebab after a late night on the town, one expects a fist-sized meal that can be consumed easily, if somewhat messily, as one attempts to find their way home. One does not generally expect to be handed a kebab the length and breadth of their forearm — which is basically what happened to me last weekend after a trip to Alasya Turkish Restaurant. A kebab from Alasya will cost you around $8.50, and in return you essentially get two meals in one (it’s a strong and stretchy stomach that can handle one of these babies all in one go). I’ve never seen so much stuffing inside a kebab before, and you can opt for as many different sauces as your hungry heart desires. Also on the takeaway menu are pides, casseroles, dips, salads, böreks and freshly bakes breads from the enormous domed oven at the back. Of course, Alasya does more than takeaway food. A sit-down kebab meal will cost around $15, with banquet menus priced between $21.50 and $31.50 — …

A pretty rose garden it is not, but this little Chinese eatery in Elizabeth Street is one of the tastiest and best value ‘cheap eats’ restaurants in Melbourne. I’d never heard of the place but every time I passed by on my bike I noticed it was packed to the brim, so one day I decided to try it. I’ve been hooked ever since. The food is basic street-hawker style, and almost everyone here orders something from the ‘Rose Garden Top 10’ menu. My favourite is No 1 — spicy green beans with minced chicken on rice (pictured above along with the crispy skin pork omelette). The servings are enormous — I rarely get through a whole plate — and it’s dirt cheap at only $9.50 or $10. The service is lighting fast and you’ll be eating your meal within five minutes of ordering. The restaurant is usually very busy, with tables spilling out onto the footpath, but you’ll never wait long for a table. This isn’t the place for a romantic …

Mmm. Böreks. Just thinking about those tasty treats is making my mouth water… If you find yourself in Vic Market and needing a snack, head straight to the börek stall in the delicatessen section of the market. It’s easy to miss — it’s just a single, simple shop front — but you can usually spot it for the crowd. Here you can buy a freshly baked börek with various fillings (cheese and spinach, spicy potato, or spicy lamb — my personal favourite) for only $3. The börek shop also sells wraps for $3, as well as a few other snacks, but everybody comes here for the famous böreks. During peak hour you’ll need to battle your way to the front of the crowd to get your order heard, but it’s all worth it. The Borek Shop Address: Shop 95, Deli Hall, Queen Victoria Market Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 6am–2pm, Friday 6am–5pm, Saturday 6am–3pm, Sunday 9am–4pm Damage: $3 Read more reviews at